Tipos polínicos encontrados em amostras de mel e pólen de Scaptotrigona nigrohirta Nogueira & Santos-Silva, 2022 (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini) de duas comunidades na Reserva Extrativista Tapajós-Arapiuns, Brasil.

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the botanical origin of honey and pollen loads collected by stingless bees of the species Scaptotrigona nigrohirta (Apidae: Meliponinini), since the floral sources used by bees in the preparation of their products may indicate the main food resources for the diet of these bees. In Chapter I, pollen identification was carried out in honey samples of S. nigrohirta, generating the chapter entitled “Pollen types found in honey samples of Scaptotrigona nigrohirta Nogueira & Santos-Silva 2022 (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini) from two communities in the Extractive Reserve Tapajós-Arapiuns, Brazil”, in which 28 pollen types distributed in 13 botanical families were identified. Honey samples from the Carão showed a greater number of pollen types compared to Solimões, indicating that S. nigrohirta can be considered generalist in the use of food resources in different periods of the year, with the occurrence of temporary specialization in Solimões, which characterizes the great contribution to the bee diet in the region at different times. In Chapter II, the study of the pollen loads deposited in the pots of the stingless bees of S. nigrohirta was carried out. Thus, the chapter was entitled “Pollen types found in pollen samples of Scaptotrigona nigrohirta Nogueira & Santos-Silva 2022 (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini) from two communities in the Tapajós-Arapiuns Extractive Reserve, Brazil” which can be identified 25 pollen types, 9 species, 16 genera and 15 families. S. nigrohirta, presented a fairly restricted pollen spectrum with about three to ten pollen types per sample, the 15 botanical families. The most collected pollen types S. nigrohirta are considered here as key species for the maintenance of these bees in the composition of the meliponiculture pasture. Therefore, it was possible to observe environments with high similarity of resources, allowing the creation of stingless bees in both communities, indicating that S. nigrohirta can be considered more generalist in the use of food resources in different periods of the year.